So, what can you do to fool the dog? Let's split the mission up into four phases: lying up, pre-contact, distant contact, and close contact.

LYING UP
If you have to spend any length of time in a lying-up place, always obey these simple rules, even if you have no proof that a search dog's operating.

1. Keep as close to the ground as possible.
2. Put most of your clothing over you, so that the ground absorbs your scent rather than letting it out into the open air.
3. Breath down into the ground, or at least into the vegetation.
4. Keep as still as possible.
5. Bury rubbish under where you are lying.
6. No smoking, no fires wherever possible.
7. If you're discovered by anyone, move away as fast as you can.

PRE-CONTACT

Use all the normal physical camouflage tricks to blend into the environment, plus a few that are designer to throw the dog off the scent.

1. Travel over ground already used by other people or by animals. This makes the dog work much harder to keep on your track
2. If you're travelling as part of a group, split up from time to time. Double back on yourself. Leave a false trail whenever possible.
3. Use streams and running water to confuse the dog, but don't try to walk for too long in the stream itself - it will slow you down too much.
Instead, cross the stream diagonally, doubling back perhaps two or three times so that the dog can't tell which of your exit tracks is the real one and which ones are dummies.
4. When you're preparing food, pay close attention to the direction of the wind. You must bury all wrappings and container, but remember too, to handle them as little as possible. The smell of the food is one thing - your smell on the wrappers tells the dog that it was your food. When you bury the remains, don't touch the ground with your hands. Use a metal tool of some sort. Whenever you can, sink the rubbish in deep water. The same goes for urine and faeces.

Distant Contact

If you're sighted from a distance, speed becomes important.

1. Try and tire the dog and handler team; it will be easier to destroy their confidence in each other if they make mistakes through tiredness.
2. If you're part of a group then split up straight away, and arrange a rendezvous for later.
3. Make for hard ground. A road or a rocky surface makes and hold much less scent than a soft one.
4. If you are in wood country or scrub, double back and change your direction as often as you can.
5. The tracker dog will be on a long lead; if you can get him tangled up, you can increase the distance between you and him, and maybe break off the contact entirely.

CLOSE CONTACT

If the dog catches up with you, you're in deep trouble. Not so much from the dog; he's done his job in finding you. Now you're in trouble from the handler and whatever combat back-up he may have available.

1. Forget the dog for the moment. You'll know from the look of him whether he's an attack dog or a tracker. If he's a tracker, he probably won't come near you.
2. Move as fast as you can. Get out of sight of the handler.
3. Get rid of loose pieces of clothing, food (Especially food - the dog may be distracted by it when he comes looking for you) and any other pieces of kit that aren't vital to your mission or your survival.
4. If the dog sticks with you, you must kill or immobilise it.